Compressed-air liquid elevator



Feb.` 13, 1923.

1,445,497. w. B. DIXON.

COM'PRESSED AIR'LIQUID ELEVATOR.

FILED MAR-23. 1921. 2 SHEETS-SHEET h4 Feb. 13, 1923.

1,445,497; W. B. DIXON. coMPREssEn Am Lloum ELEVATOR.

FILED MARjzs. 192|.

2 SHEETS-SHEET`2.

. v Snom/V60@ W. f" www Patented i3, lQZ.

l naires L. MARSH AND ONE-THIRD T0 CAROLINA.

0F ONE-THIRD TO VANN BOTH OF SPRAY, NORTH COMlPRESSEiv-AIR LIQUIDELEVATOR.

Application filed March 23, 1921.

To all fui/om t may concern.'

Be it lnown that l, l/VALTER B. Dixon, a citizen of the United States,residing at Spray, in the county of Rockingham and State of NorthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCompressed-Air Liquid Elevators; and i' Vdo hereby declare thefollowing` to be a full,'clear, and exa-ct description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomaleand use the same.

The invention has relation to the lifting of liquids from deep wells andhas for its principal object the provision of means by which compressedair is utilized for .moving a pumping piston downwardly .and springs toraise the piston when the `pressure of the air is relieved, theadmission of airto the pump cylinder and its discharge.therefrom beingautomatically controlled by the movement of the piston.

A. further object of the invention is the provision of a pump cylinderadapted to A,be inserted in the well and having its lower endcommunicating with the liquid in the well by means of a valved pipe, anda valved discharge pipe also connected with the lower end of thecylinder and extending to above the top of the well. The upper end ofthe cylinder is Iconnected to a source of supply of air under pressureby means of a pipe provided with a valve to control the entrance of airto the cylinder. The upper end of the cylinder is also provided with avalved ldischarge for releasing the pressure from the cylinder. Mountedin the cylinder is a pump piston having springs connecting it with thetop ofthe cylinderv to normally raise it, said piston beinof actuateddownwardly .by air pressure admitted through the air pipe aforesaid. Aplunger is also provided and actuated by the piston to close the valvein the air supply pipe and open the valve in the discharge whenV the'piston Vis moved downwardly to release the pressure 'above the pistonand permit the springs -to raise itA for another stroke.

y by the line 2-2 of Serial No. 454,890.

The details of the invention will be described hereinafter andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which l? ig. l is a centralvertical sectional view of a fragment of a well casing showing myimproved liquid elevator positioned therein,

Fig. 2, a cross section on a plane indicated i Fig. l looking in thedirection oi the arrows,

.F ig. 3, asimilar view on the line of Fig. l looking in the directionof the arrow,

l* ig. 4., a longitudinal sectional View on au enlarged scale of the airdischarge pipe.

Fig. 5 is a view on line 5-5 of kF ig. l.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts: in the several views, A indicates a wellcasing of the usual construction. l designates a` pump cylinder incasing A having its lower end connected by means of a pipe 2 with theliquid in the well and orovided with a valve 3 of any suitable type andarranged to permit the liquid to enter the cylinder but to not dischargetherefrom. fl designates a. pipe also connected with the lower end ofthe cylinder and leading tothe top of the well and provided ,with aVgsuitable valve 5 arranged to preventreturn of the liquid in the pipeto the cylinder.

The upper fend of the cylinder is connected with a source of supply ofair under pressure by means of pipe 6 having a valve, preferably of theball type, designated 7, and a valve seat 8. 9 indicates a. dischargepipe in the upper end of cylinder l `and provided with a valve l0 thatis normally closed bv a spring 11.

l2 designates the pump piston reciprocally mounted in cylinder l andprovided with the usual pac-king rings 13 of any preferred type, saidpiston being preferably made of sheet met-al. 14 indicates springsconnecting the upper end of piston l2 with the upper end of cylinder l,said springs having sufficient retractile strength to overcome theweight of and raise piston l2 and the column of liquid in the cylinderand supply pipe 2.

15 designates a. plunger, Iprefeiably `rec- 'ton 12 to its initial)osition s )rino 7 Z3 CSI tangular in cross section larged head 16 thatis slidably mounted in a central rectangular recess 17 formed iii piston12, 18 indicating anti-friction rollers journaled in the upper end ofrecess 17 and adapted to engage the sides of plunger above the head 16and also act as a stop to engage head 16 and lower the plunger when thepiston nears the completion of its downward stroke. Plunger 15 is guidedin its movements by elongated rectangular bearings 1S secured to thewalls of cylinder 1 by bars 19 formed integral with said bearings, saidbearings being ai' anged one above and the other below the plane ofdischarge pipe 9. 20 indica-tes a spring connecting plunger vl5 and thelowcrmost bearing 1S and adapted to normally lift said plunger.

The upper en d of'plungei' Yl5 is foi-ined with a reduced portion 21that is adapted to engage ball valve 7 and lift it from its seat whenplunger 15 is in its uppermost position. Immediately below reducedportion 2'1 is anv inclined shoulder 22 that is engaged by a roller 23journaled in the end of arm 24 secured to the wall of cylinder 1.

25 designates a yoke surrounding plunger 15 and connected at one ysideto the stem of valve 10 by means of a chain or other ilexible member 26,while the other side of the yoke is connected to the opposite wall ofthe cylinder 1 by means of i'eti'actile coil spring 27 28 indicatesrollers mounted on the sides of yoke 25 and forming an antifrictionbearing for plunger 15.

In operation, assuming thatthe piston 12 is in its uppermost position,valve 7 is in open position and valve 10 closed, air under pressure willenter cylinder 1 and will force piston 12 downwardly. When rollers 18engage head 16 of plunger 15, said plunger will be also actuateddownwardly permitting valve 7 to close and spring 27 will retract andpull saidplunger in the direction of the springand open valve 10 topermit of escape of air from lthe cylinder. When the air pressure in thecylinder is reduced suliiciently springs 14 will retract raise pis- 2()at the saine time raising plunger 15. When plunger 15 is moved upwardlyroller 23 on arm 24 by engaging inclined shoulder 22 will move saidplunger to the side against the resistance of spring 27 thus permittingspring 11 to reseat valve 10 and stop the discharge of air from thecylinder and the continued upward movement of the plunger will causereduced portion 21 to engage valve 7 and unseat it to permit resumptionof admission of air for the next stroke of the piston. It will befurther understood that on the downward stroke of the piston the liquidin the lower end of cylinder 1 will be discharged through pipe 4, valveand having an en-l cylinder, means Lilia-ie? on the up stroke of 3 beingclosed, while enter 'the cylinder to the piston liquid will lill thevacuum caused by movement of the piston, valve 5 in pipe 4 being closed.

It will also be understood that changes in construction may be madewithin the scope of the invention without altering the spirit thereof,and l do not, therefore, limit myself to the specific construction asshown and described except as specifically set Vforth in the claimsappended hereto. l.

Having thus described the invention what I claim is 1. In a compressedair liquid elevator, a pump cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, meansto urge raising movement of said piston, valve control means to admitair under pressure to said cylinder to lower the piston including aplunger, means to urge lateral movement of the plunger and valvecontrolled means for the discharge of air from the cylinder adapted tobe opened through lateral movement of the plunger.

2. In a kcompressed air liquid elevator, a pump cylinder, a pipe forconveying air under pressure to said cylinder, a valve in said pipe, apipe for discharging air from the cylinder, a spring seated valve insaid discharge pipe, a spring normally tending to open said springseated valve, a yoke interposed between the last mentioned spring andthe valve, a piston mounted to reciprocate in said cylinder, springsnormally tending to actuate the piston against the pressure of air inthe cylinder, a plunger operatively connected with said piston and withthe yoke aforesaid, said plunger having means to actuate the valve inthe air supply pipe,

and means to actuate the plunger to moveV the yoke against theresistance of the spring secured thereto. l

3. In a compressd air liquid elevator, a pump cylinder, a pipeforconveying air under pressure to said cylinder, a valve in said pipe, apipe for discharging air from the cylinder, a spring seated valve insaid discharge pipe, a spring normally tending to open said springseated valve, a lyoke interposed between the last mentioned spring andthe valve, a piston'mounted to reciprocate in said cylinder, springsnoi'- mally tending to actuate `the pistonagainst the pressure of air inthe cylinder, a plunger operatively connected with said piston andslidaloly mounted in the yoke aforesaid, said plunger provided withmeans to actuate the valve in the air supply pipe, an inclined shoulderon said plunger, and means engaging said shoulder to actuate the yokeagainst theresistance of the spring secured thereto.

4. In a compressed air liquid elevator, a pump cylinder, a pistonoperable Vin said to urge movement of the piston to a normal position,means of oomtioned means and adapted to open after 10 pressed air supplyto move the piston oounclosing) of the first named valve.

ter to Said means, a out off valve for the In testimony whereof I aHixmy signaseoonol mentioned means, means normally ture in presence o1" tWoWitnesses. maintaining said valve open, said latter means being operableto permit Closing ot WALTER B' DXON' the valve through movement of thepiston, VVitnlesses: and an outlet valve for the cylinder con- L. S.NEAL.

trolled through movement of the third menp P. W'. ZIGLAR.

